Brooklyn Nets: 5 goals for the 2018 offseason

5. Be frugal about young free agents

The first goal of the offseason is a relatively simple one to check off. The Nets have no reason to overpay any of their in-house free agents, because the ones due for extensions this summer are not even close to max-level players.

For example, Nik Stauskas has not shown much promise since becoming a Net. His red flags that caused other teams to move on from him — defense and basketball IQ — are still prevalent. He’s basically useless if he’s not shooting well, and he’s also an extremely streaky shooter. Anything more than $3-4 million in this salary cap climate would be a mistake.

At least he’s not as bad as Jahlil Okafor, a flat-footed center with little lateral mobility. A castaway just like Stauskas, Okafor has been even worse since his move to Brooklyn. He is a deer in the headlights defending pick-and-rolls, bullied underneath the basket, and also rebounds terribly.

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He also doesn’t know how to pass out of a double-team when he gets swarmed, thereby nullifying his one positive attribute (post scoring). Anything more than the veteran’s minimum to retain him would be an egregious overpay.

One youngster worth monitoring this summer is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. A defensively versatile wing/forward the Nets traded for in the 2015 NBA Draft, RHJ has been an intriguing piece through this rebuild.

His ability to switch positions 1-4 has been extremely fun to watch. However, he does have one crucial weakness in his game: his 3-point shooting (23.7 percent for his career). Simultaneously, this cathartic flaw might actually make him easier to retain.

Players with his defensive versatility aren’t easy to find, but very few teams are willing to pay a premium for them if they can’t shoot, especially with so many teams devoid of cap space.

Granted, he is a restricted free agent, meaning that the Nets can simply match another team’s offer for him. This tactic should not be used on high-profile RFAs, i.e. players a team could justifiably give a max contract to; fortunately, Rondae does not fit that category. He will probably get no more than $13-15 million a year, no matter the suitor.